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The first of 300 Little Caesars[4] Pizza restaurants in Mexico officially will open for business on May 10 with two or more to follow within the month. Little Caesar, the familiar mascot for the pizza chain, arrived at the May 9 grand opening festivities on a canvas platform carried by four toga-clad bearers, in the style of ancient Roman heroes. The mascot was carried through streets near the Las Aguilas-district restaurant before participating in the grand opening celebration.

The children of Mexico also welcomed Little Caesar to the country with open arms. Two weeks before opening the first restaurant, Little Caesar delivered pizza to children at group homes and orphanages.

Corporacion Mexicana de Restaurantes (CMR) is the master franchise owner in Mexico. The company, whose aggressive plan calls for 200 restaurants to be open by 2004, will operate its own Little Caesar restaurants as well as franchise the concept. CMR currently operates 68 restaurants throughout Mexico, which include a casual dining concept and gourmet restaurants.

The company is publicly traded on the Mexico stock exchange. The CM agreement with Little Caesars in for 300 restaurants by 2010. The Little Caesar pizza chain is on a fast-paced agenda for development in international markets and currently has about 280 international restaurants. It anticipates growth to 1000 international restaurants by 2003. Little Caesars has restaurants in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, South Korea, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, the Philippines, Ecuador, Egypt, Aruba, Curaco, Iceland, Guatemala, Japan, and now Mexico.